Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have returned to the UK six years after stepping down from their roles as senior working royals and relocating to America. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex touched down in Britain last week alongside their two children, Archie and Lilibet. The couple are understood to be residing in a private, non-royal property outside London, with the two young royals set to begin school in the UK within a matter of weeks.
No return to royal duties
However, Harry will not be resuming any royal duties, with both King Charles and Prince William said to be in "lock step" and unwilling to permit the prince and Meghan a 'half in, half out' role within the monarchy. The Prince of Wales and the King are believed to have been informed of Harry and Meghan's intentions simultaneously.
While Harry has visited his father during recent trips to the UK, he is not thought to have seen or been in contact with his brother, and relations between the pair are said to remain frosty. Close friends of both William and the Princess of Wales have indicated that while they "cannot forgive" the Sussexes for their hurtful accusations against the Firm, they remain resolute in their desire to "look forward to the future", reports the Daily Star.
Past accusations and interviews
This follows Harry and Meghan's string of high-profile interviews regarding their time as working royals, accompanied by a Netflix series, Finding Freedom, and the release of Harry's memoir, Spare. The Duke and Duchess levelled several accusations at the royals, including an alleged altercation between the two brothers, with Harry claiming William pushed him into a dog bowl during a dispute over his relationship with Meghan.
In his book William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, by The Mirror's royal editor Russell Myers, William's response to Harry and Meghan's interview with Tom Brady in 2019 was revealed. During the conversation with the news presenter, Meghan acknowledged publicly she had been struggling, and Harry said he and his brother were on "different paths".
According to Myers, the interview cemented something in William's mind and demonstrated to both himself and Catherine just how dramatically things had shifted between them and Harry. William also believed Harry had grown "paranoid" - despite his efforts to support him.
Insiders on the brothers' rift
"He [William] felt as though somewhere down the line, perhaps it is impossible to even say when, that he lost his brother," a source close to William claimed. "He became paranoid, angry, obsessive and firmly rooted in the past. There's no doubt, at that time at least, there was a lot of love and support available for Harry."
It's been widely reported - and Harry has himself admitted - that William warned his younger brother to take things slow with Meghan. "It's easy to forget now, given everything that has gone on," an insider told Myers. "But William did find Meghan quite refreshing at first. He was genuinely happy for Harry and only wanted the best for him."
Catherine, widely regarded as the "voice of reason" between the warring brothers, is also thought to have been less keen to persuade Harry and Meghan to remain within the working royal family once their intentions to step back became apparent. In his book, Myers writes: "At first she had thought William and Harry's squabbles were rooted in immaturity or stubbornness, on both sides, but Harry and Meghan's attitude towards palace staff, who she and William cared about, set the couples on an entirely different course."
Yet matters truly came to a head in the wake of Harry and Meghan's 2018 wedding. One insider who knew both couples well at the time suggested William and Catherine felt the Sussexes had 'an agenda'. The source added: "They definitely thought the Sussexes' behaviour stemmed from something more than being difficult. The whole atmosphere between them was pretty toxic. Meghan was being bullish, Kate found her abrasive. There was definitely a hope from her side [Catherine's] that William could try and talk to Harry and settle things but that didn't exactly happen... and at the end of the day, she had three young children, who were her focus and if anything she saw the inevitability of the parting of ways, although perhaps not to the extent of what eventually happened."
